>
> >If you cull 15% in the fall and lose 15%, or don't cull and lose 30% in
> winter, the loss is the same in reality but the winter loss statistic is
> lower. However, if the winter is mild, you end up with more live colonies
> in spring than if you had culled, that's why we do it that way.


The math works.  But in practice in California (where bees frequently fly
during winter) I find that bees from unculled sick colonies tend to drift
to adjacent hives, taking those colonies down with them.  We now try to
move the poor colonies apart from the good ones.

-- 
Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com

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